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Eight teams won nearly $400,000 in prize money and Oleo Sustainable Palm Oil Solutions was awarded the $25,000 Technology for Social Equity Prize from SOURCE Global

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A proud supporter of the  (ASUio) and sponsor of the $25,000 Technology for Social Equity Prize, congratulates the eight student-led startups who won a share of nearly $400,000 in prize money — the largest amount for a university-sponsored event in the country.

The $25,000 Technology for Social Equity Prize, sponsored by SOURCE, was awarded to Oleo Sustainable Palm Oil Solutions. Stanford University graduate students and Oleo co-founders Gabriella Dweck and Kelly Redmond designed a process for converting wasted biomass into sustainable palm oil alternatives.

The annual entrepreneurial showcase took place earlier this month on the university's Tempe, Arizona campus. Now in its eighth year, ASUio gives top collegiate entrepreneurs the chance to keep moving their ventures forward without giving up equity. For Dr. Kyle Squires, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, ASUio is special.

"This event gives students the opportunity to showcase practical applications of the translational research many of them have encountered in the lab or their classrooms," Squires said. "Securing investment is challenging, but this competition helps students jumpstart bringing their ideas to market. It's exciting to know that, thanks to ASUio's generous supporters, the winners will earn much-needed capital and the encouragement to make an impact through engineering."

Monetary sponsors include , , , , and the .

SOURCE Global Founder and CEO Dr. Cody Friesen, an ASU graduate and Fulton Engineering Professor of Innovation in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, knows how valuable competing in an event like ASUio can be.

"The professor and technologist in me loves seeing what ideas teams comprised of interdisciplinary students come up with in tackling some truly daunting challenges," Friesen said. "The teams didn't disappoint. I'd like to congratulate not only the winners but everyone who made ASUio a resounding success. I'm already excited for next year."

About the ASU Innovation Open:

ASU Innovation Open, or ASUio, was designed to fuel multidisciplinary teams of collegiate founders to harness the power of entrepreneurship to tackle the world's most challenging problems. Our competition values university-supported technologies and the scientists, artists, engineers, enterprisers and designers who develop them. We view collegiate entrepreneurs as elite athletes who must demonstrate perseverance, hustle and teamwork to change the world.

About SOURCE Global, PBC

SOURCE Global PBC, a Public Benefit Corporation, exists to "perfect water for every person, every place." The company's SOURCE® Hydropanels create drinking water using sunlight and air as the only inputs, putting the power of safe, high-quality water production into the hands of every person in nearly every climate and corner of the world. The infrastructure-free nature of Hydropanels allow SOURCE to provide off-grid, renewable drinking water to communities, homes, corporate campuses, hotels, islands without infrastructure, remote work sites, and other applications, in more than 50 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Newsweek Magazine named SOURCE Founder and CEO Dr. Cody Friesen, one of 13 "Tech Innovators Helping to Save the Planet" in 2023. SOURCE® is a registered trademark of SOURCE Global, PBC.

For more information about SOURCE Global, visit .

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Media Contact

Brett Heising, SOURCE Global, 1 855-796-9283, [email protected],

SOURCE SOURCE Global